Dog Faithfully Stays By Missing Two-Year Old’s Side

A trip to find a Christmas tree turned into a potential disaster for young Peyton Myrick.

The two-year-old's grandfather had taken the boy to find the perfect tree on a 300 acre plot of family land in Clover, South Carolina when they got separated and, suddenly, Peyton was nowhere to be found.

Luckily, there was a third party involved. Peyton's dog Ashapoo, who had also disappeared.

"In the back of your mind, you know the dog is going to be with him," said Peyton's dad Rich Myrick, who joined the search for his son when he got word that he had gone missing.

For four-and-a-half hours, hundreds of volunteers combed the land for Peyton. Finally, when it started to get dark and cold, Ashapoo came bounding towards one of the search parties.

The barking pooch then led them to Peyton, who had fallen asleep on the ground inside of a barn.

"I think he got scared and just lay down and took a nap, and Ashapoo stayed right with him," Rich explained. "I guess he felt that was his job to protect him and be with him... I believe the dog was his guardian angel in fur."

For his hero turn, Peyton's parents plan on rewarding Ashapoo with "the biggest bone there is."